ABSTRACT
The goal of proteomic analysis is the identification of the constituents of the proteome together with their functional interactions. This task is a formidable and impractical undertaking requiring the identification of an absolute minimum of 30,000 proteins. Technologies might make this possible but would likely require a minimum of a three-dimensional orthogonal format that would require the definition of a third general protein characteristic in addition to size and charge. Blood is an extremely popular source for biological samples. Samples are reasonably easy to obtain, the samples are technically and psychologically easy to process (e.g., feces, while easy to obtain, generally is considered difficult to process because of cultural reasons) and samples are mostly considered homogeneous when compared to saliva or urine, both of which are somewhat compositionally dependent on fluid flow rates. Processing of tissue and cell samples for proteomics analysis presents a different challenge to the investigator.
